Scar Tissue XIV

Minato Arisato groaned back into consciousness as he raised a hand to his head. He opened his left eye a crack trying to identify his surroundings before opening both eyes. Realising he was back in his room Minato sat up in his bed slowly rubbing the back of his neck as he swung his legs out from beneath the quilt. Minato sat on the edge of the bed resting his head in his hands groaning softly as his head throbbed.

Thankfully this throbbing felt different, it hurt, but it didn't feel like his skull was about to crack open. He got up only now realising he was dressed in boxer shorts and a black t-shirt. Minato walked across to the desk and smiled picking up a box that contained the friendship mementoes that SEES had given him. Minato frowned as he realised that one was still missing, Mitsuru's motorcycle key. Minato lifted the box and looked under the desk as a soft knock came from the door. Minato climbed under the desk as he called out to the person to enter.

"Minato?" Akihiko called making the blue-haired boy stick his head out from under the desk. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I um, well, someone left a box of stuff on my desk, but I think something is missing," Minato replied.

Akihiko shook his head. "Nothing's missing Minato, Yukari put that together, but she didn't think it was fair to speak for Mitsuru when she wasn't here."

"Oh, I see, that makes sense. Figures, Yukari always was the practical one."

"Was she?" Akihiko inquired raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, she… oh, right, um, Shinjiro Aragaki. He was the guy I asked you about the day we got here. He wasn't your brother by blood, but he was your brother in every other respect. He was our friend who was murdered by STREGA. He accidentally killed Ken Amada's mom which is why he left SEES before Yukari, and I joined."

Akihiko's eyes widened, and a smile brightened his face. "You remember!"

Minato returned the smile rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I uh, I have a massive headache, but it's different from the ones I had before. My memories are there, at least I think they are. Some that were sharp in my mind are now fuzzier. My parent's death, for instance, that's not nearly as clear as it was, but I know it wasn't Mitsuru's fault. It was a coincidence that my family was there that day, maybe fate, but I know if I hadn't been there it wouldn't have mattered whether my parents lived or not, everyone would have died."

"I'm glad you see things that way. Mitsuru will be happy to know you no longer hate her. It was tearing her up inside."

Minato ducked his head looking away from Akihiko. "I said some dumb shit recently, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but you didn't have all the facts, we should have been more honest with you. So, let's call it even, ok?" Akihiko replied extending his hand for Minato to shake.

"Ok," Minato agreed shaking Akihiko's hand.

"Come on, some people will be delighted to see you," Akihiko said approaching the door beckoning Minato forward.

At the Iwatodai Police Station Katsuya Suou was, for the umpteenth time, cursing the lousy police station coffee. He could have gotten up and found his way to Chargall Coffee on Tatsumi Port Island, but he was a bit too busy to make that trip right now.

Thankfully his partner had thought ahead dropping a large Cappuccino and a bag of doughnuts on the desk beside him. Katsuya gratefully handed his cup back to the older man who tossed the contents into a nearby sink before rinsing the container out and pouring the Chargall coffee into the now clean cup.

"What are you up too partner?"

"I'm looking over the evidence from the Nakajima case again," Suou replied pulling a folder towards him.

"I spoke to Kirijo's lawyer he's going to check in today to see if Minato Arisato is up to an interview," Kurosawa replied.

"Considering his attitude towards Kirijo during our visit I'm not surprised that they've tried to keep him away from an interview. I take it from your reaction this wasn't how he acted two years ago."

Kurosawa sat at his desk cradling his cup of coffee between his palms as he leaned back. "They were friendly from the moment I saw them together. I'm reliably informed there was a spark between them from the moment they met. After Mitsuru's father died I saw them together a lot in Paulownia Mall; there was even a rumour that Minato was part of the reason Mitsuru left her fiancée."

"Sounds like more than an idle crush," Suou commented.

"I'd say it was much more, so much that whatever bump in the road they've hit has seriously hurt Ms Kirijo emotionally. The fire I saw in her eyes was gone when we arrested her. All I saw was resignation."

Minato Arisato emerged onto the ground floor of the Iwatodai Dorm only to be almost knocked over onto the stairs behind him by a blur of short brunette hair. The young woman in question grasped Minato by the cheeks kissing him forcefully on the mouth as tears fell down her cheeks. Coming up for breath after about thirty seconds Yukari Takeba considered the eyes of Minato Arisato with a questioning expression. "D-do you remember me Minato-chan?"

Minato smiled resting his hands on Yukari's slim waist. "Your favourite flower is pink Gerbera Daisies, and you read fan-mph…"

Yukari's face flushed bright red. "Y-yeah, you're y-you, thank you!"

"Excuse me!" Fuuka exclaimed pulling Yukari away from Minato and enveloping him in a kiss of her own. Fuuka withdrew after a few seconds she shared a smile with Minato before being pushed aside.

"MINATO-CHAN!" Chihiro cheered as she wrapped both her arms and legs around him kissing him repeatedly before Yukari and Fuuka pried the young woman off him. Minato fell back to the stairs where his eyes drifted in the direction of his male friends. Junpei Iori, Keisuke Hiraga and Kenji Tomochika all looked ashen white with shocked expressions on their faces.

Akihiko walked over to the front door to greet the person who had rung the doorbell. Akihiko accompanied Mitsuru Kirijo's lawyer into the dining area where he cast a curious glance towards the three frozen boys as he sat at the dining table then a questioning glance back towards Akihiko who shrugged. "They're trying to process something they just witnessed."

"I see. Well, I'll leave them to it. I'm glad to see you're up and around Minato-san. As you might be aware, Ms Kirijo is currently in a police detention centre. She is awaiting a determination from the Lead Prosecutor for Iwatodai on whether they will proceed with murder charges about the death of Maki Nakajima. I am aware that before your recent bout of illness you and Ms Kirijo weren't on good terms…"

"Sir, my recent falling out with Mitsuru was entire of my doing. I was not in my right mind, and I made some false assumptions regarding Mitsuru's family and the death of my parents. Mitsuru and her family have been very kind to me in the past few years, and I've violated that trust if I can help in any way to repair that damage I'll do it."

Akihiko, Yukari, Fuuka, Chihiro and, Mitsuru's lawyer all smiled at this proclamation. "I'm glad to hear it, young man. I just have a couple of questions for you; these will mirror the questions you'll get from the detectives when we arrive at the police station. It's imperative that you tell the truth and the answers you give me to match the ones you give them. Understood?"

Minato nodded allowing Mitsuru's lawyer to proceed. "How would you describe your relationship with Miss Kirijo?"

"Strained, but that's my fault. We had a shouting argument a couple of weeks ago. I had just suffered through a bout of serve migraines which put me in hospital. I wanted to return to my University studies, but Mitsuru was against it because she was worried about my health. I said some things that hurt Mitsuru, and we've only spoken once since then."

"Oh? And when was that?"

Minato paused searching his mind. "What was the date that the police officers came to the Dorm?"

"Minato-san…" The lawyer protested.

"Please, it's important."

Mitsuru's lawyer examined his notes before returning his gaze to Minato. "May fourth."

"Then it would have been May second, around eleven thirty pm."

Mitsuru's lawyer blinked, he had a baffled look on his face. "Think very carefully about this Minato-san, are you sure of the time?"

Minato nodded. "I had a migraine that night. Watching the clock in my room was a way of taking my mind off the pain."

Mitsuru's lawyer collected his papers off the table hurriedly throwing them haphazardly into his case. "We should go, immediately."

Minato cast a baffled look to his friends before he and Akihiko grabbed their coats and followed Mitsuru's lawyer out and into a waiting Range Rover that whisked them to the Iwatodai Police Station.

Moments, after they left the three boys, unfroze and Junpei voiced the question they'd all been thinking. "When the fuck did Minato get a HAREM!"

Chihiro, Yukari, and, Fuuka exchanged glares. They all agreed only one could survive this battle for Minato's heart.

Mitsuru Kirijo laid on the most uncomfortable bed she'd ever laid in for the Mitsuru was starting to lose count of the days in the Iwatodai Detention Centre. It was either the fourth or fifth day of detention and when she wasn't eating or being visited by her friends or her lawyer Mitsuru lay in bed staring at the ceiling. That had been the routine for the last couple of days but the two days before that had been rough. Being incarcerated had forced Mitsuru into involuntary detox from her brief but an intense spell of alcoholism. Mitsuru spent the first two days vomiting the meagre contents of her stomach into the nearby toilet bowl and due to the period even after she'd emptied her stomach she'd continued to vomit until the doctors pumped enough saline into her system to redress the balance and moved her to a different cell.

Mitsuru rose to her feet hearing the door to her cell open. Mitsuru rai a curious eyebrow, Mitsuru approached the cell doors cautiously. Mitsuru glanced over at the guard who indicated that the red-head should follow. Mitsuru nodded and dutifully followed and soon found herself in front of the discharge desk. After being handed back her personal effects and signing some forms, Mitsuru was released into the custody of her lawyer.

"Kenzo-san, I assume you're to thank for getting me released?"

Kenzo Urata smiled shaking his head. "Not just released but cleared of all charges. I wish I could take the credit but it wasn't my work that saves you, it was the testimony of this young man."

Kenzo stepped aside allowing a flustered blue-haired man to step into Mitsuru's eyeline. Small tears ran down Mitsuru's face as she dropped her effects to the floor to firmly embrace him. "Minato."

Minato Arisato wrapped his arms around the red-head with a small smile on his face. "Welcome home Mitsuru-sempai."

To Be Continued…

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